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Brown Sugar Cinnamon Turkey Chili.

Guys and Girls, not one “wtf?” allowed! Don’t knock this, until you try this.

I promise that all you will be able to say about what results on your kitchen table from the recipe is nothing. Nothing because it isn’t polite to speak with your mouth full…. and it’s going to be full for quite a few bites!

One of things that I have struggled with stomaching my whole life has been anything that turns up the heat in a dish. I love spicy, but spicy doesn’t love me back. Therefore, for a while I was on a search to find a way to pack the same spicy punch in my chili without feeling like I had been punched in my stomach while I was eating it. The answer, a little bit of sweet and a little bit of cinnamon. Just enough to bring the punch down to just a little belly rub.

Aly’s Best Brown Sugar Cinnamon Turkey Chili

Cook Time: 40-60 minutes

Level: Easy

Yields: 5-7 servings

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)

1 red bell pepper, chopped (or yellow)

1 package ground turkey (93/7)

28 ounce can of peeled italian tomatoes and their juice

2 tablespoons tomato paste

16 ounce can of black beans

16 ounce can of kidney beans

1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

Lime and Parsley for garnish

Spices:

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tsps cayenne pepper

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt to taste

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Make sure all of your ingredients are ready to go and chopped because this dish is a quick cook!

Start by pouring your olive oil into a large deep skillet and warm it up for a minute over medium heat. Sautethe chopped sweet onion and a few handfuls of chopped bell pepper, until they are golden but not fully cooked. They will continue to cook with the rest of the ingredients.

Take the package of ground turkey and put it into the mix. Using a wooden spoon, try and chop it up as best as you can to allow it to evenly brown. As you see the meat browning, feel free to add all of the spices into the mix: 2 teasoons cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano.

Putting a “junk bowl” as I like to call it (a place where you can put all your scraps and throw aways) near the stove, open the can of tomatoes. You will want to crush them and clean them with your hands. Make sure to throw away any of the stringy innards or stems that might be hanging around and put all the good tomatoey bits into the pan. You will also want to pour in all of the juice.

Before you put the beans in the pan, drain and rinse them well. After stiring things up a little bit add your two tablespoons of tomato paste. That will help start that thickening up process and also add a lot of great flavor.

The final step is to add the star of the dish, the brown sugar. Two tablespoons is the right amount, but you might want to put a little more or a little less depending on how you like it!

You can jazz up each bowl with a dollop of greek yogurt or sour green, a little sprinkling of lime, and a garnish of parsley… Either way, the flavors all work so well together.